bill said:
Hi Booko, the issues you raise relate to the point Sunstone made in his last post that tele-evangelists have a much greater audience numerically abroad than at home (however what percentage of the US population is directly influenced in this direction is another matter). I would liken this to examples of US pharma companies being permitted to manufacture and export products banned in the US. It is permitted but why?
I was frankly surprised (and not nicely so) to hear Sunstone mention that televangelists have a greater audience abroad. I don't think that bodes well, frankly.
Who in this country would have the authority to decide that the message these people are sending out is "dangerous" and should not be allowed to be exported? It would be the same sort of logic that would allow for them to be censored in this country as well -- it really can't be done.
As for pharmceutical companies putting out drugs elsewhere that are banned here (and chemical companies too, btw), the ban only applies within our borders, and there is no law to prevent export.
But on a wider point, if anyone here thinks this country is about our initial values, like " life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" these days, think again. We are about the pursuit of money. We're stuck in such a morass of materialism that it's become pretty much "natural" for us, and I think we often don't realize just how bad it's become.
The freedom of speech and religion rights exist on US soil but what about a guarantee of freedom of religion OS.
We would view that as a problem for those of you overseas. You have your laws. If you want to censor these guys, it's your call.
I think these notions are largely subjective anyway in the sense they are abstract and not absolute. One of the few Bush initiatives the American public seems to agree with recently was the phone tapping exercise. People are prepared to accept violation of their rights to free speech, religion, privacy and other rights given adequate criteria like an argument for national security.
*Some* people are prepared to accept this, mostly because imnsho they don't really understand our own history in areas like this, and they, unlike our Founders, are quite naive about gov't in general.
The US is one place where the freedom of speech should allow debate on the issues of the influence of the far right. Why isn't it happening? Where is the moderate voice? I suggest the mass is inoculated from care about these issues by media coverage.
The moderate voice is shut out due to the format that is current in American media. Their idea of "analysis" is to stick people from 2 extremes at a table and let them spout talking points.
Even among Americans, there's a common perception that there are just "two sides" to any issue.
There IS no moderate voice that can be heard in this country. It has grown so bad that I often joke I should put a bumper sticker on my car that reads "No taxation without representation."
Maybe freedom of speech and other Constitutional rights are the reason the US is not under Charia law based on the Ten Commandments (for example). However, it seems no one is talking or that those that decide are NOT LISTENING TO YOU.
Those that decide are listening to the money, pure and simple. There's a growing realization here that it doesn't matter which party you're talking about, they're pretty much bought and paid for. Unfortunately, this often gets expressed in low voter turnout, which is not how you can make a change.
Some of the other posts on this thread have mentioned that prophecy is not restricted to Christianity and I take this point. I think it is a generic problem in religious thought that allowing prophecy to determine ideas about the future is dangerous when these prophecies contain violent content.
Well, fortunately when it comes to religious thought in this country, the people who are using prophecies to either foment or celebrate violence are really in the minority.
I personally find prophecies of more use looking backward to see if a person's claim to prophethood has any validity or not, but I realize that's not a usual view.
I hope you are right about an eventual recognition of the hate and destructive nature of the message presented by doomsday realists everywhere. However, as this is not happening in the US, despite its freedom of speech and religion, I cant see how you can draw the conclusion it will happen elsewhere. How?
Actually it is happening in the US. You just won't see it on the news. You can see it here, though, in what people post. You can see it when you meet people in everyday life.
Don't make the mistake of thinking that American media, be it fiction or news, is a very accurate mirror of what everyday Americans are like.
